My review of the various Pay Chargers around the area (SOCAL

[forbin404]

Note : This is my experience only, this does not cover all areas.

This is based on the Egolf 3.6w charger.
I'm getting roughly 35 miles for 10kwh = 3.5miles per kwh.

Charging Costs :

Chargepoint (Card needed but not required) - $1/hr for most locations. This ROUGHLY comes to 8c / mile
Blink Network (Card required but code can be bought) - $0.49c/kwh. This comes to 14c / mile
NRG (Card Required) - $1.5/hr. This comes to 12c /mile
Home (SCE) : 11c/kwh. 3.5c / mile.


Convenience:
Chargepoint Most amount of stations around here.
Blink : Mostly around Carl's jr locations
NRG : 2 Malls and Kaiser buildings


Reporting:
Chargepoint : Reports you when your car is plugged in and how much energy used while the car is plugged in.
Blink : Reports you when your car is unplugged and gives you a detail bill AFTERWARDS
NRG : Nothing, nothing nothing (I heard you get a monthly statement)

So my final thoughts,

1) Nothing beats home.

2) Chargepoint is the best network around in SoCal in price, service, and features.

3) NRG is the worst around here.

There might be other networks as I didn't try to plug them all in.

 

[johnnylingo]

I'm getting roughly 35 miles for 10kwh = 3.5miles per kwh.

Ouch, so your range has only been 70-75 miles? Have you intentionally been driving hard, or is that just a necessity?

 

[forbin404]

I'm getting roughly 35 miles for 10kwh = 3.5miles per kwh.

Ouch, so your range has only been 70-75 miles? Have you intentionally been driving hard, or is that just a necessity?

Not sure, it says 100mph but after 3 miles it's already 80.

Also I work in an area with lots of stop / go traffic. I use the 'B' mode a lot.
This 3.5mph per kwh is a very rough estimate. I didn't use the car stats for it, I was just following my gut feeling after looking at the chargepoint reports.

 

[JoulesThief]

I'm getting roughly 35 miles for 10kwh = 3.5miles per kwh.

Ouch, so your range has only been 70-75 miles? Have you intentionally been driving hard, or is that just a necessity?

Not sure, it says 100mph but after 3 miles it's already 80.

Also I work in an area with lots of stop / go traffic. I use the 'B' mode a lot.
This 3.5mph per kwh is a very rough estimate. I didn't use the car stats for it, I was just following my gut feeling after looking at the chargepoint reports.

Is there anything in your infotainment center under the hard button "Car" that tracks your long term miles per kwh? I know this exists on my 2015 SEL. Miles per kw, By Trip, by recharge, and by long term.

 

[DepletedZPM]

This 3.5mph per kwh is a very rough estimate. I didn't use the car stats for it, I was just following my gut feeling after looking at the chargepoint reports.

As far as I know, ChargePoint doesn't get to read your odometer. Their miles/kWh are supposedly typical of the vehicle you've named in your ChargePoint profile.

Is there anything in your infotainment center under the hard button "Car" that tracks your long term miles per kwh? I know this exists on my 2015 SEL. Miles per kw, By Trip, by recharge, and by long term.

It works the same way on my 2016 SE.

 

[forbin404]

This 3.5mph per kwh is a very rough estimate. I didn't use the car stats for it, I was just following my gut feeling after looking at the chargepoint reports.

As far as I know, ChargePoint doesn't get to read your odometer. Their miles/kWh are supposedly typical of the vehicle you've named in your ChargePoint profile.
.

It's 17 miles 1 way to work (through about 25 stop lights) and I based it on the 10kw I charge each day at the local Chargepoint.
this car is only used for to/from work.

 

[JoulesThief]

This 3.5mph per kwh is a very rough estimate. I didn't use the car stats for it, I was just following my gut feeling after looking at the chargepoint reports.

As far as I know, ChargePoint doesn't get to read your odometer. Their miles/kWh are supposedly typical of the vehicle you've named in your ChargePoint profile.
.

It's 17 miles 1 way to work (through about 25 stop lights) and I based it on the 10kw I charge each day at the local Chargepoint.
this car is only used for to/from work.

I can only guess you are either accelerating quite hard and braking hard, not timing and making the lights, or doing 65-70+ mph or more for a good portion between those lights. How much time does it take for you to do those 17 miles? I used to do 17 miles in 30 lights, Blvd max speed of 35 mph, in about 45 minutes,and I've no doubt I'd pull off 6 to 7 miles per kwh in that drive.

Also, what ancillary stuff are you running? Heater?, Fan cranked up high? Rain? Snow?

 

[RonDawg]

This 3.5mph per kwh is a very rough estimate. I didn't use the car stats for it, I was just following my gut feeling after looking at the chargepoint reports.

If you're simply going by the amount of electricity you're pulling out of a charging station, keep in mind that not all of the electricity you are getting is going straight to the battery. There are ancillary systems running (like the cooling system for the on board charger) that will consume extra electricity, plus charging itself is not 100% efficient.

As JoulesThief said, it's best to use the fuel economy display in the center nav screen by pressing the "Car" button. It automatically resets itself every time you charge.

 

[forbin404]

My onboard says 5mph / kwh.
So I thought it was 3.5, it's a lot more.

But still, if I'm paying $1 to get 10 miles, then it's 10c / mile no matter what my onboard says right?

All those 'ancillary' items still means I have to pay for it right?

 

[JoulesThief]

My onboard says 5mph / kwh.
So I thought it was 3.5, it's a lot more.

But still, if I'm paying $1 to get 10 miles, then it's 10c / mile no matter what my onboard says right?

All those 'ancillary' items still means I have to pay for it right?

If I charge at home, tier 1 charging rate, at $0.16 per kwh and I am getting an indicated 5 miles/kwh, theoretically, without including any charging losses, what is my cost per mile, in electricity?

 

[forbin404]

My onboard says 5mph / kwh.
So I thought it was 3.5, it's a lot more.

But still, if I'm paying $1 to get 10 miles, then it's 10c / mile no matter what my onboard says right?

All those 'ancillary' items still means I have to pay for it right?

If I charge at home, tier 1 charging rate, at $0.16 per kwh and I am getting an indicated 5 miles/kwh, theoretically, without including any charging losses, what is my cost per mile, in electricity?

Well that's an easy 3.5c per mile or $1.05 per gallon assuming a similar 30mpg car.

But Tier1? If you are in CA, Tier 1 is the lowest amount of usage. I've traditionally been in Tier 3 or 4 (We have A/C and that kills it) so I switched over to the EV Plan which has On/Off/Super Off.

 

[RonDawg]

All those 'ancillary' items still means I have to pay for it right?

Yes, unless you're charging via your own solar, wind, or waterwheel powered electric source.

 

[vetaldj]

I would put: "Nothing beat free chargers at work", in case you have one.

My experience with SoCal chargers somehow similar.

Work: free if you can get spot
Volta: free if you have time to get a spot
NRG: so far is the most expensive by $.49/kWt.
WattStation - mostly $1-$1.5/hour, my apartment has it for $2/hour (about $.35/kWt)

That what I used so far. I stick with work/WattStation so far. I can't charge at home as we have no plug in garage as this is apartment complex. With my tire 3-4 with SCE It would be the same as using apartment charger for $.35/kWt

 

[forbin404]

I would put: "Nothing beat free chargers at work", in case you have one.

My experience with SoCal chargers somehow similar.

Work: free if you can get spot
Volta: free if you have time to get a spot
NRG: so far is the most expensive by $.49/kWt.
WattStation - mostly $1-$1.5/hour, my apartment has it for $2/hour (about $.35/kWt)

That what I used so far. I stick with work/WattStation so far. I can't charge at home as we have no plug in garage as this is apartment complex. With my tire 3-4 with SCE It would be the same as using apartment charger for $.35/kWt

well the old nothing beats free would trump anything around. haha

Are you in SoCal? I haven't seen any GE Wattstations around here. Even the Apt complexes are using Chargepoint.
As a neat Datum, the Kaiser hospital in my area had NRG stations but they worked with ANY chip card, hence they were free. They then were replaced with Free units. So I'm spending a lot of time in hospital for free charging (and a cheap breakfast..haha)

 

[RonDawg]

If you go into the settings in PlugShare and deselect everything except "GE Wattstation", you will find that the stations still on the map are anything but GE units, at least in the greater LA area. It seems like PlugShare is grouping any station that is not under the other networks under this name, including free non-networked charging stations made by Eaton and Clipper Creek. I've even found a few that were actually Tesla charging stations :roll:

Another useful membership to have if you are near LA Metro's rail network is EV Connect, as they run the EVSE's at the following Metro stations: Union Station, Universal City, Sierra Madre Villa, Long Beach/Willow Street, and El Segundo. It's $1/hour to charge, with a $3 cap. I've never tried to use them during the daytime (when I suspect they are all full due to the cheap charging) but at least for Union Station, Universal City, and Sierra Madre Villa I haven't had a problem at night. Note that at Union Station there is an additional fee to park. More info: https://www.metro.net/projects/ev/